New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-06-11
MASTERING HENRY GEORGE.

Mr.. GUNTON REPLIES TO SOME THINGS SAID on
POVERTY TO PACKARD COLLAGE STUDENTS.
About a fortnight ago Henry George answered.
number OF questions Ia regard TO his lanu theOics
before the stuhts at Paokards business C0hese' at
No SOS Broadway. Yesterday morning. by invita-
ton OF s. S Packard president of the college, George
Gunon, the lecturer and writer on social economies
rplicd 10 Henry Georges answers The Lecture
room was crowded with an Interested auiienoc. All
the students were present and number Of invited
friends. Professor Packard presided
MIR. Cunton first TOOK up Henry Georges PROPOSE
ton that poverty increasing with the increase oil
productive power lie showed from statistics and
historical data that IL not true either that pow
ery had increased with the Increase Of productive
power or that hal absorbed increasing proper
ton of the gain Of civilization. lie cited facts 10
show that though had actually increased had
relatively TO the wealth produced decreased con'lni
ousy-,hat during the last $50 years 1t had in fact
decreased fully 90 Der cent. that prices had fallen
during the ume from 80 TO 30 per cent ana
that wages had rEen nearly 100 per cent he next
comba;ed the statement that thorc j. no power ON
Garth which can rightfuy make a grant Of exclusive
ownership In land. II this wore true, he argued
then there be no exclusive ownership In land
If there DO exclusive ownership, the United
states cannot have exclusive OWncishlp OF us terri
tory. II the United states has Eight 10 own Its
territory a. against othet nations then has not Tor
the same reason NcwYOrk stato a right TO own lam
against Now York STATE; and II why not an lhdi-
vidual as against New York city Applause) In
other words, whatevor principle Will give the nifty
millions Of people in this country the right TO own
land will give ten millions or one million or ono
person that right. (ApplauseJ In short there Il
no such uling as absolute ownership. IN society
oyerythlpg T. conditional. Tho worry ldca Of society
is that on thing be done In harmony with the
good of the whole and therefore the question OF and
ownrship Is not a question OF absolute Tight but a
question OF social expcdiency Tho principle Of
taking uncaincd iIcicments on land would simply
be taxing tho profits OF business
Poverty, continued Mr.. Gunton, can only be abOl
ished by Increasing wealth II never DO abo
shed by nero redistribution, because there Is not
wealth enough IN the community however distributed
TO make any important reduction In poverty. Mcath
can only incIeased tie methods of producing ~
are improved Improved methods Of production
such Is machinery, ETC., can only be employed III
proportion capital IL concentrated, and therefore
instead OF abOshing tho concentration Of capital In
large corporations II Is only by that means that In
In pTOpOtOn large concerns supplant small ones,
and laIge firms plant small firms every thing that
Is produced Is produced cheaper and more abund-
antly. In the manufacture OF cotton cloth In 1881
Il took four cents on every pound Of cotton cloth
produced TO give the capitalist who had small fact
ores 9 per cent on his invested capital To-day II
takes q little over ono and Onc-half cents each
pound o. cloth TO give him the same return and
therefore he takes less than onebaf tho amount out
Of what he produces to-day In the large concerns than
he dill in 1881 With the small concerns. Since that
year prices have greatly fallen wages have risen
more than 30 per cent, and paupersm has been
fJy roll .c1